Blues awards

The story behind the Blues

In 1970, a sub-committee was created to determine the form of sporting awards at Macquarie University.

The University decided to adopt the concept of the ‘Sporting Blue’, which is based on the origins of the annual rowing race between the Oxford University Boat Club and the Cambridge University Boat Club.

The race originated in 1829 as a challenge between two former Harrow School pupils. The colour blue was inspired by one of the Cambridge oarsmen in the second race in 1836. The oarsmen tied a light blue ribbon to the bows of the Cambridge boat to reflect the colour of his school, Eton College. The dark blue colour was then ascribed to Oxford because it is the colour of Christ Church College. As a result, the tradition of the University Sporting Blue began.

Macquarie University held its first Blues Awards Dinner in September 1972, celebrating winners from 1970 and 1971. This year marks the 44th Blues Awards ceremony at Macquarie University.

Over the past four decades, Blues have continued to be awarded for outstanding achievement in university sport. The award exemplifies the extraordinary level of sporting brilliance at Macquarie University and is an honour that becomes the highlight of many sporting careers.

2018 Blues Awards

Outstanding sporting talents were celebrated at the Macquarie University 2018 Blues Awards. A number of athletes were recognised for their achievements athletically and academically while representing Macquarie, their state or nation over the past year. Former Olympic gold medallist Brooke Hanson OAM was the master of ceremonies, with Macquarie alumni and former award winners attending the evening to present awards.

Six athletes were awarded the highly prestigious Blue Award, with an incredible nineteen receiving a Half Blue Award. Five athletes, one club and one sport administrator received recognition with other major awards, including the Female and Male Sport Athlete of the Year.

The Hon. Patricia Forsythe and retired NRL player Jason King were in attendance to present the coveted Chancellor’s Award, which was awarded to Dominique Du Toit for the second year in a row. Dominique has been part of the Australian Women’s Rugby Sevens team since 2016, winning silver at the Commonwealth Games and recently being crowned World Series Champions after a highly successful five leg series.

2018 also saw the introduction of two new awards: the Kim Guerin Leadership Award – in honour of Campus Life’s late director – which was presented to Elizabeth Clarkson, captain of the Softball team. The Softball team also won the second newly established award, the Nationals Team of the Year Award, for bringing home gold on the national stage.

Dominique has been part of the Australian Women’s Rugby Sevens team since 2016, winning silver at the Commonwealth Games and recently being crowned World Series Champions after a highly successful five leg series.

Female Sport Athlete of the Year - Esther Qin

As a member of the Australian Diving Team, Esther completed a successful FINA Diving World Series campaign in 2018, winning silver in two events. She also partnered with Georgia Sheehan in the Commonwealth Games winning both a gold and bronze medal.

Male Sport Athlete of the Year - Tom Craig

Tom is a member of the Australian Men’s Hockey team, who have achieved the world number one ranking over the past twelve months. The team also secured gold at the Commonwealth Games, a Champions trophy and will compete at the World Cup in December this year.

Rookie of the Year - Jessica Henderson

This award recognises high-level sport performance by a student in their first year of study at Macquarie University. Racing in the ITU World Triathlon Multisport championships, Jess qualified for the 2019 World Championships. Jess also finished first in the World Sprint Triathlon, qualifying for the World Sprint Triathlon Championships.

Club of the Year - AFL and Table Tennis

AFL club: 2018 saw the club’s most successful season on the field with all five of the Macquarie teams making finals. The club has continued their growth, securing long term sponsorship and partnerships with community youth clubs, in addition to establishing a Macquarie alumni masters team.

Table Tennis club: One of Macquarie’s largest clubs with 150 members, the Table Tennis club has seen extraordinary success through both competition and club development. In 2018 the club recorded its most successful season with four players representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games.

The John Lincoln Services Award - Keelan Birch

This award recognises long term volunteer service to a sport club, sport program or Unisport event, and was presented to Keelan Birch, president of the Squash club.

The Ted O'Keeffe Scholarship - Jaydn Field

Jaydn is an Indigenous sport scholar studying a Bachelor of Human Sciences. In 2018 he was selected to compete at the Oztag World Cup for the Indigenous Men’s Under 21’s team. He is also a contracted Parramatta Eels Under 20s team player.

Kim Guerin Leadership Award - Elizabeth Clarkson

Honouring the late Kim Guerin, this award recognises a student leader who demonstrated outstanding leadership while representing Macquarie, leading with integrity, resilience and compassion while always striving to create a supportive and positive team culture. This year’s winner, Elizabeth Clarkson has been leading the softball team for the past three years and through her resilience, passion and dedication has led her team to back-to-back national titles while setting the benchmark for leadership amongst her peers.

Nationals Team of the Year - Softball team

The Softball team had another dominating performance, going undefeated throughout the tournament and earning the title of back to back champions on the national stage.